The invention relates to a process for producing a matted embossing surface for an embossing tool with which the surface of press-formed laminates or the like is made by means of mat chromium plating or by means of sandblasting and subsequent mat chromium plating.
Today, furniture surfaces are made on a large scale with melamine resin coated components. Such surfaces, whether on laminated wooden boards or high-pressure laminated panels, are made in hydraulic presses by applying heat and pressure, using special tools, so-called press plates, which are pressed against the material between them and thereby generate the desired surfaces. The surface configuration of the material being pressed is formed during the pressing step so that the finished surface is a true mirror image of the press plate surface.
Surface laminated wooden boards and laminated panels are demanded in many surface configurations. They include patterned, embossed and smooth surfaces, with gloss grades varying from matte to high-gloss. To produce them, appropriate embossing tools or embossing plates must be made available.
Aesthetically and texturally or haptically satisfactory results are attained when producing smooth surfaces having medium- to high-gloss finishes. However, surfaces pressed with matted press plates have an artificial and cold appearance, and they also feel cold when touched. In the production of press plates having a smooth matted surface, a flat, smooth press plate is first ground and polished, is then matted by means of sandblasting or electrolytic mat chromium plating, and is subsequently hard chrome plated. Besides the unsatisfactory aesthetic and textural characteristics of the surface finish obtained in this manner, matted press plates of this type have the disadvantage that the embossing surface is very sensitive to scratches, and fingerprints cannot readily be removed and remain clearly visible on the finished panels produced in this manner.
The present invention proceeds from the assumption that it is known from German DE-AS 27 06 947 or German Patent Specification 31 20 351, for example, to use embossing rolls and an etching process to generate surface structures on the press plates. With the etching process, single or multiple layered surface structures can be formed by applying the etching material onto the press plate with a patterned engraving roll and etching after each application. As a rule, the surface is subsequently polished and matted by sandblasting. The structured pattern can be freely chosen and includes, for example, fine structures, ribbings, naps, or wood grain.